Whips is an remarkably appropriate name for the Milwaukee-based rock foursome.

Its brand of rock music uncoils, cracks and unleashes in sharp, aggressive, raw fashion with a swift dash of sex appeal. In a pop cultural world where much of mainstream radio rock has been homogenized into feel-good anthemic choruses, Whips plays growlingly assertive yet thrillingly varied rock. The kind of rock where an ode to a loved one – "Right On" – comes in the form of a rollicking song about Evil Knievel.

"That specific song – it’s kind of weird – is kind of slightly a love song," said lead singer Ashley Smith. "My husband, in the last six years or so, has really gotten into motorcycles. He’s been, like, welding and building bikes for quite a while, and that song is basically like an ode to him, as far as saying do what you want to do, make your dreams a reality and keep going."

It’s an unexpected turn for a song about Evel Knievel, but then again, Whips does unexpected well. After all, right in the middle of their rollicking guitar-fueled new rock album lands "Forever Glow," a melancholy piano ballad where Smith’s Karen O howl and growl briefly picks up an almost Zooey Deschanel delicate airiness. It comes as a surprise, but a pleasant one, a nice mid-album respite that not only still maintains but captures the listener’s attention.

"We never set out to write a slower song; it just kind of came out," Smith said. "Chris (Hansen, the band’s guitarist) just had his keyboard set up at practice one day and started playing around. I feel like it was a good starting off point for the B-sides."

That previously mentioned rollicking guitar-fueled new rock album, by the way, is "Turn It On," Whips’ much-anticipated follow-up to the band’s 2013 EP "Year One." The nine-track record officially comes out Saturday night at a record release celebration and show at the Cactus Club. The concert, hosted by comedian Ryan Holman and opened by Midwest Death Rattle, begins at 9 p.m. Entry is $7, while limited colored vinyl copies of the new album will be up for sale for $15.

The quartet – comprised of former and current members of bands like Red Knife Lottery, Space Raft, Hot Coffin, The Academy Is and Call Me Lightning – first came together a couple years ago when Hansen and drummer Andy Mrotek met up, started talking about music and eventually about starting a new project. The two wrote up a couple of song "skeletons" and asked Smith and her Karen O-esque voice ("I love Karen O," Smith noted. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs were a very influential band for me in my late teens and early 20s") to take a look at them.

The three worked together writing up songs before they brought on the final piece, bassist Tyler Chicorel. At that point, Whips was officially assembled and ready to rock. 

Since then, the band has built up a good amount of buzz in the local Milwaukee music scene, mostly thanks to its "Year One" EP. With all of that, it was time for Whips’ LP debut. The group headed to Howl Street Recordings in Bay View, actually serving as the last band to track instruments in the studio’s old location.

"When we went in to record, we just wanted it to sound like Whips, like how we sound live," Smith said, "which I think we fairly did successfully."

Fans will be able to see, hear and compare for themselves Saturday night when the band hits the Cactus Club stage and the new album hits shelves.

"It’s kind of surreal; I’m very excited about it," Smith said. "These songs feel almost old to us now at this point. We’ve been playing a lot of these songs live for quite a while because we only had that first EP. We’re excited to play them, and we’re also excited to get back to it. We’ve already got a handful of new skeletons in the works."